Before I was transformed, I used to tutor my friends in many different subjects. I studied hard, earned the respect of the teachers and students, and after my transformation, I quickly earned my teaching degree. Then we moved.

After the move, I wasn’t sure in what direction my life would turn. It seemed that fate had something in store. Steve was a history teacher at the high school. It was because of him that my future changed. One day he asked me bring him some paperwork at the school. I wasn’t doing anything so I was happy to help him.

When I arrived at the school office, I heard an argument in a nearby office and a man stormed out slamming the door behind him. As it turned out, his ending was my beginning. That man had been the stage band teacher. Did I say “had been”? That’s because he was fired for allowing all of the band’s equipment to be stolen by leaving his keys unattended. That mistake meant my beginning. My new girlfriend, Kristen and the school secretary talked me in to going in to meet with the principal right there on the spot. I did and it didn’t take a whole lot of convincing for him to give me the job. He checked my credentials and within hours, I was the new stage band teacher at Mountainwood High School.

The first order of business was ordering all new instruments. By talking to Kristen, I found out that the band had not been the kind of stage band I thought it was. It was a classical concert band. The local high schools competed each year in band concerts. However, Mountainwood high never won any and I knew why. They played the wrong kind of music and not by the band member’s choice. It was the teacher’s fault entirely. However, now that I was in charge, things were about to change. With Mr. Wilson’s backing, I ordered all new instruments and supplies to restock the empty instrument room. Up next were the students.

I had a problem on my hands. I was as old as some of my students. I had to convince them that I not only knew what I was doing, but that I could make the band a success. I had seven people to convince. Tony, who was to be our drummer, was strong and looked to be of Spanish origins. Tina played keyboards. She was a beautiful brunette with sparkling eyes. Mark, was one of our keyboard players who was anxious to just play. He was the all American boy next door. Kristen was another guitar player. He was of African-American decent. Gina was our bass guitarist. She was blonde with blue eyes. Larry was our all around guy. He played lots of different instruments including the saxophone. He too was of African-American decent. I stood in front of them at our first class and told them who I was. They weren’t at all enthused. But one of the things I’m known for is teaching. So I set out to teach them why they should trust me and they did. Within a few minutes we were on our way to the instrument room where I showed off all our new equipment and supplies. As a new band, we took on the task of setting up our stage and, soon, we began our first practice. It was a monumental moment in the lives of the students because they weren’t meant to play Chopin or Bach. That style is wonderful, but it just wasn’t meant for a high school band.

After our first practice we were all excited and we knew there was no were to go but up. We even earned the respect and stage at the local family club called “The Family Club”. Not only did we play for the school, we also played for the public. On our first public performance, we took the stage and I was the lead singer. I’m happy to report that the audience loved us and showered us with applause after applause and we ended up doing two encores. At the end, we got a standing ovation. Moutainwood Highlife had performed its first show and we were a smashing success!! WOW!!

Matthew Star